Could treatments for COVID-19 be lurking in the Amazon rainforest?

Brazil's indigenous Kayapo people have been using a tea, boiled from the skin of a medicinal vine, to boost their immunity and prevent the worst effects of the virus.

"The medicine is very strong. When you take it, you get weak, sometimes with red eyes and a headache. But the next day, it works. You wake up well," one young villager who took the tea after testing positive for coronavirus told our reporter.

While there is no scientific evidence the drink can treat COVID-19, researchers say virus rates among the Kayapo have been lower than Brazil's population at large.

Such forest benefits are just one reason about 50 countries have now signed up to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean ecosystems by 2030.

Human wellbeing depends on preventing the collapse of the natural systems that provide food, clean water, clean air, a stable climate - and potentially lifesaving medicines, they say.

The costs of failing to protect nature and the climate are becoming clearer too. Stanford University researchers, for instance, discovered that climate change accounted for $75 billion in flood damage from heavy rain in the United States over the last three decades, more than a third of the total losses.

"The more global warming we get, the more we can expect these damages to increase," warned climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh, who suggested efforts to curb emissions now could bring a big financial payoff.

Wins by Democratic candidates in U.S. Senate seats in the state of Georgia have paved the way for President-elect Joe Biden to push through some of his planned policies to curb climate change, including spending more pandemic stimulus cash on things like building electric vehicle-charging networks.

But making real progress on climate change will require straight talk with a divided America about how people will benefit directly - from more jobs to better health - from climate action.

Politicians "need to give citizens and communities a better life today" - not just promises that future catastrophes will be avoided, said Gina McCarthy, Biden's nominee to become the first U.S. national climate adviser.

See you next week!

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